{"id":1612,"date":"2007-08-01T12:57:55","date_gmt":"2007-08-01T17:57:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/otto-parts\/"},"modified":"2007-08-01T12:57:55","modified_gmt":"2007-08-01T17:57:55","slug":"otto-parts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/otto-parts","title":{"rendered":"Otto… parts?"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Oh, just go to the slideshow<\/a>.) <\/em><\/p>\n

I took the day off yesterday, so you know what that<\/em> means, dear readers! Yup: I hustled around in traffic, walked all over the place, and sweated like Patrick Ewing! (I swear: I’m taking tomorrow off and have no plans on leaving the house. I might go all John & Yoko and not even get outta bed.)<\/p>\n

I’d have written about it sooner, but I stupidly checked my work e-mail last night instead of waiting till this morning. I discovered that one of the eight speakers at our conference<\/a> (7 weeks from tomorrow) has to cancel, which means I need to scramble to find a replacement. And, being a neurotic, I began to fear that every single speaker who hasn’t sent back his or her confirmation letter is going to cancel.<\/p>\n

Which is to say, it should’ve been a Xanax night, but I stupidly decided to play it straight. So, I woke up at 4am this morning and began formulating backup plans. This should explain some of the following disjointedness.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I spent yesterday in NYC and, while it wasn’t very humid, the 90-degree temps really sapped me. I probably started out on the wrong foot by heading over to the Strand Bookstore, which never has good air circulation. Roaming downstairs to look through review copies and the philosophy section, I thought I was going to pass out. Fortunately, I stayed conscious long enough to snap this pic:<\/p>\n

\"it<\/a><\/p>\n

I’m lying about starting out at the Strand. I actually started at a parking lot on 17th St. and 5th Ave., around 11am. The attendant asked when I’d be back and I said, “Around 7 or 8,” figuring I’d take my wife out for dinner after she gets out of work. He proceeded to park the car, hand me the ticket, and then say to me, “We close at 7.” I stared for a moment, then just left for the bookstore.<\/p>\n

Since I know you’re all dying to find out exactly what I bought at the bookstore, here’s the list:<\/p>\n